'House of Cards' Creator Reveals Reason for Season 2 Shocker (Video)

Beau Willimon and star Kate Mara talk about the surprising incident that occurs in the first episode of the latest batch released on Netflix and discuss their approaches to some of the show's characters.

Netflix

Kate Mara in "House of Cards"

[SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains major spoilers about the first episode of the second season of House of Cards. Do not read if you haven't seen that episode.]

It was a jaw-dropping moment, but both Mara and show creator Beau Willimon told CBS This Morning on Friday that this had been the plan for Zoe from the start.

"We told Kate from the get-go. I always knew that Zoe was going to meet her maker in the first episode of season two," Willimon said.

He later added, "She is so wonderful that as we got closer to doing it, we reconsidered for a second, then we stuck to our guts."

As for why he felt the need to have Underwood kill her, in such a dramatic manner, particularly given Underwood's behavior in season one, Willimon said that was part of the progression of Spacey's character.